Tracy McGrady
Tracy Lamar McGrady, Jr. (born May 24, 1979) is an American professional basketball player at at Shooting Guard for the Houston Rockets of the NBA. He was drafted out Mt Zion Christian Academy high school 9th overall in the 1997 NBA Draft by Toronto Raptors. Nicknamed T-Mac, McGrady is a 2 time leading scorer in the NBA in 2003 (32 PPPG), and 2004 (28 PPG), 7 time NBA Al-Star, and NBA Most Improved Player Award in 2001. He was also ranked #75 on SLAM Magazine's Top 75 NBA Players of all time in 2003. High school career McGrady plays both shooting guard and small forward, and is also one of the first players who went from high school (Mt. Zion Christian Academy) straight to the NBA without attending college. He created national buzz after his performance in the Adidas ABCD Camp, to which the best high school players in the nation are invited annually. He was named high school Player of the Year by USA Today. NBA Career Toronto Raptors (1997-2000) Due in part to his strong showing at the ABCD camp, McGrady was selected ninth overall in the 1997 NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors. Chicago Bulls GM Jerry Krause had arranged a draft-day trade to send Scottie Pippen to Toronto for the 9th overall pick, which he would have used to take McGrady. Krause decided not to make the deal when Michael Jordan threatened to retire if it was made. The teammate and cousin (by marriage) of Vince Carter, McGrady often found himself in Carter's shadow. While Carter was responsible for scoring, it was McGrady's job to be the team's defensive stopper and ball distributor. The duo of Carter and McGrady led the Raptors to their first playoff berth in the 2000 Playoffs, but they were swept by the New York Knicks in 3 games. The two also participated in the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk Contest. Orlando Magic (2000-2004) The Toronto Raptors made a sign-and-trade deal which sent McGrady to the Orlando Magic in exchange for a first round draft pick in 2000. In the 2000–01 season, he won the NBA Most Improved Player Award and was selected as a starter in the All-Star Game. In the 2002–03 season, McGrady captured the NBA scoring title, averaging 32.1 points per game, becoming the youngest player to do so since the NBA/ABA merger. In the 2003–04 season, he once again captured the NBA scoring title, averaging 28 points per game and set an NBA career high when he scored 62 points against the Washington Wizards on March 10, 2004. With this performance, he became the 4th player in the past 12 years to score over 60 points in a game. Despite McGrady's personal accolades, the Magic had failed to reach the second round in the playoffs, and in his fourth season as a Magic, problems with team chemistry, coaching, and management forced Orlando into a downward spiral. The season ended with Orlando failing to reach the playoffs and an impatient McGrady seeking a possible trade. Houston Rockets (2004-current) On June 29, 2004, McGrady, Juwan Howard, Tyronn Lue, and Reece Gaines were traded to the Houston Rockets in a seven-player deal that sent Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley, and Kelvin Cato to the Magic. In his first year in Houston, McGrady teamed with 16'6" Chinese center Yao Ming, to end the season ranked 5th in the Western Conference. The season started slow for the Rockets when McGrady could not seem to fit in Coach Jeff Van Gundy's offense. By mid-season, Van Gundy altered McGrady's role and made him the primary offensive option over center Yao Ming. On December 9, 2004 he scored 13 points in the last 33 seconds of a game against the San Antonio Spurs, including the game winning 3 pointer with 1.7 seconds left in the game, the Rockets won 81-80. McGrady has been named to the All-NBA First Team two times, and the All NBA Second Team three times. McGrady is considered one of the most successful prep-to-pros players ever, following in the footsteps of Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant and Jermaine O'Neal. His popularity has him following in the footsteps of Michael Jordan with his own signature shoe line with Adidas, the latest model being the TMAC 5. However, a common criticism on McGrady is the fact that none of his teams have ever advanced past the first round in his NBA career. 06 season the Rockets were 2–15 in games he did not play in and 2–16 in games McGrady did not finish. While McGrady was injured for five games with his back injury, the Rockets did not win a single game. Other injuries include him falling on his tailbone in a game against the Indiana Pacers. The Rockets were relying on their second top scorer Yao Ming to lead them on to the playoffs, a quest in which they were not successful. Personal His wife, Clarenda Harris, has a daughter, Layla Clarice, and a son, Laymen Lamar who was born December 27, 2005 during the 82-74 loss against Utah Jazz in which he left during halftime to see Harris going into labor. Tracy and Clarenda were married on September 12, 2006. http://people.aol.com/people/article/0,26334,1534671,00.html During the NBA All-Star Weekend which was held in Houston, Tracy McGrady had mentioned that he was struggling to cope in the NBA, facing friend and family problems which were not specifically mentioned. Despite this, McGrady still performed well during the All-Star game, being the top scorer with 36 points and also scoring a basket from half-court. Player profile While McGrady has often been compared to Kobe Bryant due in part to their similar statistics, McGrady's skill set and style of play set him apart from other players. He is well known for his head fakes, his crossover dribble, and his ability to create plays off of a screen, whereas Bryant is known for his explosive first step and more of a slasher type of play style. During the 2002-2003, the NBA tried to promote many NBA all-stars and compare them with past greats. The NBA compared McGrady to silky smooth game play of the finger roll master, George Gervin http://www.nba.com/allstar2003/then_now_gervin_mcgrady.html. Due to his recurring back spams and recent injuries, some people have speculated that McGrady might not be as explosive as before; however, he remains as one of the NBA's top scorers and more popular players. McGrady is currently visiting Seoul (South Korea), Guangzhou (China), Manila (Philippines) and Hong Kong to promote his T-Mac 1 shoe. NBA career achievements * 2-time NBA scoring champion: 2003 (32.1), 2004 (28.0) * 6-time NBA All-Star: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 * 5-time All-NBA: :* First Team: 2002, 2003 :* Second Team: 2001, 2004 :* Third Team: 2005 * NBA Most Improved Player Award: 2001 * Scored 13 points in 34 seconds on Dec. 9th 2004 Orlando Magic franchise records *'Most points in one game' with 62 (March 10, 2004 vs. Washington Wizards) *'Most points in one half' with 37 in the first half (March 9, 2003 vs. Denver Nuggets) *'Most points in one quarter' with 25 in the second quarter (March 9, 2003 vs. Denver Nuggets) *'Most free throws made in one game' with 18 (December 25, 2002 vs. Detroit Pistons) *'Most points in a playoff game' with 46 (in Game 2 of the 2003 Eastern Conference playoffs, First Round vs. Detroit Pistons) Career records *'Career 40+ Point Games (Regular Season)': 38 *'Career 50+ Point Games (Regular Season)': 4 *'Career 60+ Point Games (Regular Season)': 1 *'Career triple-doubles (Regular Season)': 2 *'Career 40+ Point Games (Postseason)': 3 Trivia *McGrady has three McFarlane Toys action figures based on him. *Tracy has signed a life time deal with Adidas and has his own line of clothing and shoes with the company. *Tracy has been chosen to be on the cover of the NBA Live 07 video game. *McGrady was drafted in the 4th round by the Raleigh Cougars of the 1997 USBL. http://www.usbasket.com/USB/draft97.asp *McGrady was one of the NBA superstars to contribute in the Hurricane Katrina relief game. *McGrady is featured in Mike Jones music video "Flossin'" *McGrady's home in Orlando is featured in the videogame NBA Ballers. *McGrady allowed a young child to spend a day with him at his house as a part of ESPN's "My Wish Series" where children with life-threatening illnesses are given their wish to spend a day with their favorite sports superstar. *McGrady's latest shoe is the T-Mac 6 expected to release in October. References External links * ClutchFans.net Tracy McGrady Profile - Houston Rocket Fan Site *Tracy McGrady's official website *Tracy McGrady - vid highlights *Houston Rockets Website Category:List of NBA Players